Letter-canceling machine.



No. 664,429. Patented Dec. 25, 1900.

s. g. PETTEE.

LETTER CANOELING MACHINE.

(Application filed Mar. 80, 1900.)

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IIMW-"J" "W k ATIEET W MON EJ ETT By WNW) W 7 M Patentd Dec. 25, 190i).

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S. E. PETTEE.

LETTER CANOELING MACHINE.

(Application filed 1m. 39, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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Uilll rates PATENT reins.

SIMON E. PETTEE, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

LETTER-CANCELING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 664,429, dated December 25, 1900. Ap lication filed new 20.1900. Serial No. 10,730. (No model.)

To a/ZZ- whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, SIMONE. PETTEE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Letter-Canceling Machines; and I do declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to letter-canceling machines for post-offices; and the invention consists in certain improvements on the con struction of machine shown and described in my application filed October l i, 1898, Serial No. 693,487, and pertains more especially to the feeding mechanism for feeding the letters in single order to the canceling-rolls, all substantially as shown and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

The object of this improvement is to provide a feeding device for the canceling-rolls which will take a single letter froma bank of letters and carry it to one side into the bite of the printing-cylinder and impressionroller without tearing or nintilating the face of the envelop or marring its contents.

Great difficulty has heretofore been encountered even in the best of machines in feeding uniformly and regularly, owing to the variety of shapes and thicknesses of the letters to be handled. This fact, taken in connection with the tearing and mntilating of the envelops and their contents, has proved to be a serious drawback to the universal adoption of machines of this class. To overcome these objections, I found it necessary to provide a feeding mechanism which did not forcibl T strike or en a e the letters b means .l e a y of friction rollers or reciprocating needle mechanism,and the construction and arrange ment of parts, as hereinafter described, were designed with that end in view.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of my improved machine, showing a bank of letters in working relation to the feed-wheel and the pneumatic connections from said wheel to the suction- Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view, partly in section, of the front end of the table and the feeding, printing, and banking mechanism thereon. Fig. 3 is a central ver- .19, fastened to table G.

gers D, are also driven through this shaft 4.

Power connection is had through the bevelgearing 5 on the end of shaft 4i and the ver tical shaft 6 upon which the printing-cylinder is mounted, and gear 7 on this shaft 6 transmits the power to feed-roll B and banking-fingers I) through the gears 8, 9, 10, and 11,1'espectively. An inking-roller E and an impression-roller F bear against the printing-cylinder and are rotated through their frictional contact. All these members and their gears are located on the top of a table G, which is divided at the rightinto two halves 12 and 13 by a central wall 14 and which, with the end walls 15 and 16, form separate feeding and banking boxes or ways, within which the letters II are moved forward and back in batches. The uncanceled letters are banked edge up and end edges abutting the guideplate 14 in box 12, and the end letter at the extreme left lies with its face fiat against end wall or plate 15. The letters are held loosely compressed and are fed forward by means of theplate 17, mounted on an arm of the sliding member 18, which is sleeved on the rod A flexible connec-' tion attached to member 18 rides over a sheave 20 and a weight 21 on the end thereof feeds the plate 17 and letters I-I forward as each rotation of feed-roll B takes a letter from the batch.

The feed-roll B is supported to rotate on a hollow vertical stud or shaft 22, closed at the top and open at the bottom, where it isconnected up to a flexible hose or pipe 23, which leads to the fan or plenum engine A. The shaft 22 is rigid with a plate 24-, which is pivoted to the table G at :35 and which has an extension provided with a slot 26 and a bolt 27 to fasten the plate to the table. Withthis construction roll 15 can be set or adjusted in relation to the end letter in box 12, and a slot lution of roll B, when these openings 29 and 30 meet,'suction is had about the inlet at the periphery of the roll. the periphery of the roll is limited and controlled through the rotary cut-off-valve action of the openings 29 and 30 as they pass by each other at shaft 22, and suction is only on 'when the inlet-opening is opposite the end letter. The outer portion of soft-rubber segment 31 extends slightly beyond the periphery of roll B, and its face conforms to the curvature of the roll as well, and it is this rubber-segment face that the letter bears against. As the segment-inlet 3O approaches the face of the letter the opening of the valve occurs, and the suction created by fan A draws the end letter against the rubber face of the segment and holds it there until the roll B has rotated sufliciently to carry it far enough to one side and into the bite of the printing-cylinder and impression-roller. A slight further rotation cuts off the valve, and it remains closed until the roll B has nearly made a complete rotation or until the openings 29 and 30 meet again.

The suctional feeding arrangement has two important and meritorious features by which a positive feed. of a single letter at each rotation of the roll B is assured and which will not mutilate, tear, or destroy the envelop or its contents. The feeding of a single letter at each rotation positively occurs because the suctional action draws the end letter away from thenext or following letter, and before the gap is closed by the movement forward of the batch, which is timed or controlled through weight 21, the end letter has been discharged into the bite of the printing-rolls. The batch of letters has now full time to move forward because a complete rotation of roll 13 must now be made before another letter is taken. Mutilation or tearing of the letters is avoided, because the suctional force is only sufficient to pull each letter forward and hold it to the rubber face or seat. The suction is not and need not be very great to accomplish this point, and as the letter is fed forward by the rotation of roll B it is released from the roll segment-face by the closing of the valve and the cutting oflf of the suction and by the natural separation following the straight travel of the letter and the rotary line of travel of the segment-face, the edge of interposing plate 15 serving as a shearing or separating member.

The segment 31 is preferably made of soft rubber, so as to give the letters a soft seat and avoid tearing of the envelop if its contents are of a hard or uneven nature and also to make a better adhesive surface'for assisting in the feeding of the letter.

The suctional area at against the face of the letters as they are fed to the printing-rolls. The bent end of plate 14:" and the spring 32 and its roller guide each letter to the printing-rolls and are also of assistance in preventing more than one letter at a time from feeding forward.

A set-screw 34 in the free end of the spring 32 affords means to set the roller 33in any desired relation to the face of the letters, so as to obtain the best bearing results.

The plate 15 is hinged at its bottom edge to the table G, and a connecting-rod or pitman 15 is pivotally connected tothe top of the plate and to a pin 15 set slightly off the center on the top face of the feed-roll B.

The rotation of feed-roll B and this eccentric connection causes the plate 15 to rock or swing back and forth, and the pin 15 is preferably located at one side of the axial center of the roll directly opposite the letter-engaging face-segment 31 to swing the plate 15 back as the segment 31 strikes the letter. The falling-back action of the plate 15 relieves the pressure on the letters and loosens or separates them at the moment that the segment 31 engagesthe end letter 'to feed it forward, and this loosening of the letters occurs at each revolution of the roller B and prevents more than one letter from feeding forward. The retreating or relieving action of the end plate 15 would in itself be sufficient to assure the feeding of one letter at each revolution of feed-roll B, but when taken in connection with the suctional feeding arrangement the single feed is most positive and does not fail in a single instance.

What I claim is 1. In a machine for canceling letters, the combination of printing and discharging mechanism, means to feed a batch of letters,

an end-determining plate for said letters, a

guide-plate against which the end edges of the letters abut, a fiat spring mounted on said end plate and having a guide-roller in its free mechanism, substantially as described.

2. In a letter-canceling machine, the combination of the canceling-rolls, a feed-roller therefor having a letter-engaging facev to feed the letters singly to said canceling-rolls, a movable plate opposite said roller against which the said letters rest, means to back said plate away from said letters when the end letter is engaged by said feed-roller face, and means to feed the letters against said plate and up to said feedroller, substantially as described.

3. In a letter-canceling machine, the combination of the canceling-rolls and a feedroller therefor having a cushioned segment extending beyond its periphery to engage the face of the letters, an opening through said segment and roller connected up to a plenumengine, a movable plate opposite the peripheral face of said roller and against which the letters bear, means to rotate said roller, and means to move back said plate when said ment engages the letters, substantially as described.

gaging face, a connecting-rod for said plate actuated by said roller to rock said plate, and means to rotate said feed-roller, substantially as described.

5. In a letter-canceling machine, the combination of the canceling-rolls, a feed-roller therefor having a valved inlet, a cushioned engaging face on said roller open to said inlet, a plenum-engine having pipe connections with said roller-inlet, a pivoted plate opposite said roller and against which the letters normally rest, a connecting-rod for said plate having an eccentric connection with said roller, and means to rotate said roller and rock said plate back When the end letter is engaged by its cushioned face, substantially as described.

Witness my hand to the foregoing specification this 20th day of February, 1900.

' SIMON E. PETTEE.

Witnesses:

H. E. MUDRA, R. 13. Moses. 

